Say NO to Rock Auto.

[Daryl]

Wow, a little harsh? Yea he should have checked the clearance of the caliper first. But working in a shop I can tell you that mistakes like this arent uncommon.

I absolutely agree with you. The fact that he's throwing a temper tantrum over a common issue (which ruined other parts that he should KNOW is all on him for being complacent) and after being offered commonly accepted remedies that would apply to any online discount parts reseller is the issue here.

 

[fishEH]

^ Exactly. When you buy online you will usually get lower prices but returns are a hassle. I'm pretty sure RockAuto isn't sitting there piecing together calipers any more than the guy behind the counter at AutoZone is. They get their parts from manufacturers. You also probably didn't pay a core charge at RockAuto like you would have at a walk in store. You need to check the fit, period. Them asking you to send back the bad calipers before sending the new ones, or having you pay for another set and shipping them out are both common practices with online retailers.

 

[roving]

i've ordered lots of parts from them for BMW, Land Rover, Mercedes, Japanese Crap. Never had a single issue.

Its pretty common practice to check clearances after you put new rotating parts on. Make sure you didn't forget a spacer or for interference.

 

[srch4me]

I've never had issues either. Customer service had been great. Even let me return a part that didn't fit after the return period was up.

If you do your own work then you should know your responsible for any screw up that happens. Its your responsibility to make sure the parts fit. Would have taken ten minutes with a caliper and comparing old with new to figure out the issue.

KF7ZSK

 

[1leg]

I still don't understand how someone couldn't hear that happen. From the look of it you would have heard it coming a mile away. Again people should turn the radio down sometimes.

 

[Snagger]

No, you are out a set of rotors because you didn't check your work. You claim to be an Audi tech?



After your libelous post, who knows?



Victim! The victim!!! You bought a ****ty rebuilt aftermarket part and tried to mate it with another aftermarket part from a different manufacturer, didn't check your work, and now you're the victim.



Yes. When you buy the equivalent of Auto Zone-brand parts from a company who also sells Ford F150 fan belts, yes, you need to question every part you get from them.



Poor customer service? Because they didn't bend over backwards and overnight you a new El Cheapo caliper? LOL.

Time to pull out the Big Boy credit card, throw down $140 for some ****ty Britpart caliper at AB and have it overnighted. Own up to your ****-up and quit being the victim.

So, you jump down the throat of a guy who was possibly sold defective parts, preach all high and mighty, and then show your complete lack of knowledge on parts quality by advising a purchase of Britpart callipers. Britpart brake components are notoriously shoddy. A quick search of any UK LR forum, where there is a huge wealth of experience in these things, will tell you not to use Britpart for mechanical parts, especially safety critical ones. Britpart is a wholesaler, not a manufacturer, and while some of their stuff is fine, and some of it OEM or even better, such as their CV joints, much of it is unbranded, ill-fitting crap from third world countries fit only for re-smelting.

He may have made a mistake on failing to check the clearance of the parts, but it would appear that someone has provided faulty or mislabled parts. Whether it's an undersized calliper or oversized disc I couldn't say, but a decent vendor will try to ensure their parts are correct and of suitable quality - your contract is with the vendor, not the manufacturer.

I can't say that I'm impressed by the bullying mob on here, either. Some of you have acted like school kids.

Ultimately, it's a salutory lesson in not buying cheap or pattern parts, especially for something as important as this. I'd recommend fitting genuine Lockheed callipers, which aren't expensive if you buy them from somewhere other than LR - the Gen Parts stuff is horrifically marked up.

 

[kingg5]

Wow, a little harsh? Yea he should have checked the clearance of the caliper first. But working in a shop I can tell you that mistakes like this arent uncommon. People that do this every day become complacent. The last 200 calipers installed worked fine, this one didnt. The real problem is shopping on line. If he had bought the caliper locally then he would have simply returned them for another one or pair. Because he shopped online there is no way to fix the problem fast or effeciently.

and this is exactly why i refuse to buy important parts online, you NEVER get the customer service or quality control that you get from a reputable local shop. support your local economy!!

 

[srch4me]

The fact that he blew a gasket after only one faulty part from them is ridiculous. They have good customer service. Even parts from an auto store will have the same errors. Rock auto Carries the same brands as local part shops

KF7ZSK

 

[R-Overland]

Whenever I had trouble with Rockauto it was due to my own fault. And if it wasn't, they were quick to fix the situation

 

[Snagger]

The fact that he blew a gasket after only one faulty part from them is ridiculous. They have good customer service. Even parts from an auto store will have the same errors. Rock auto Carries the same brands as local part shops

KF7ZSK

I couldn't comment on Rock - I've never heard of them because it's a totally different bunch of vendors that most of you use (I think there are only a handful of Brits or other Europeans on here). I can understand his frustration at not having another part sent out immediately, but Rock's methods seem similar to what we get here. As for the disc damage, I think that would be a bit of a grey area here - yes, it was caused by a faulty calliper, but the damage may not have occurred if the fit had been tested and found faulty before driving. So, right to refund for the calliper aside, it becomes debatable how much blame for the other costs is attributable to the calliper and how much to the installation.

I think it's a faulty calliper, though - I have RRC/Discovery front discs front and rear on my 109, with Discovery callipers all round. The clearance of the discs through the rear callipers is pretty tight on the diameter, but thickness is OK. To get the callipers and discs to line up at the back, I had to make bracket spacers - the rear discs should have a much shallower top-hat section. So, I can't imagine that the OP has mismatched callipers and discs. Faulty unbranded callipers are quite common over here. I have heard of many with misaligned bolt holes - at least that fault prevented fitting, so didn't cause damage to anything else. Porous and swarf filled bores are also frequently heard about.

 

[srch4me]

If anything he's out 15 bucks to get the rotor turned back to spec

KF7ZSK

 

[rover4x4]

X2 you coukdve upgraded to D90 calipers. If yiu missed that maybe you shouldn't be working on trucks. I've always had good luck with rockauto, you get what you pay for.

 

[ColoDisco]

Against my better judgement I decided to post on here again only to give resolution to those who care. I had some issues with Atlantic British as well however theirs were handled much differently. The first issue is they sent me rear instead of front calipers. Honest mistake which they immediately sent me a set of front calipers, and I did not have to send back the rears first. In fact they sent the return label in with the correct front calipers. One of the front calipers had a misdrilled mounting hole. Right caliper lower mounting hole. Again they immediately sent me a replacement with a return shipping label in the package no questions asked. I still had to grind away at the new caliper a bit to make it not rub the rotors. Honestly what I have learned is that the calipers are hit and miss no matter who you buy them from. Kind of a crappy situation considering the only alternatives are high performance replacement kits over $1000 which involve more work to install but are probably more reliable. I did purchase brake rotors with pads for my 07 VW rabbit, power stops which fit just fine with the factory calipers. Not all parts are a difficult fitment however the discovery apparently is, if I had it all to do over again? I would buy factory parts only or just pony up the dough for the really nice setup.

As for those whom I find undesireable on here I will not allow you to relegate me to quitting this forum. I enjoy it here, I will just hang out in other areas. For reference I am a Audi and VW technician, I never claimed to be a master Land Rover technician however I have done quite a bit to my discovery:

Replaced left rear inner axle seal
Repacked both rear wheel bearings
Replaced right rear window regulator
Replaced windshield twice (get the windshield coverage on insurance)
Replaced the head gaskets
Replaced the battery
Replaced the alternator twice
Replaced the spark plug wires twice
Replaced the spark plugs twice
Replaced the distributor cap twice
Replaced the distributor rotor twice
Replaced the air filter
Replaced the fuel filter
Replaced the cam, tappets and timing chain
Replaced the serpentine belt twice
Replaced the water pump
Replaced both front wheel bearings
Replaced high pressure power steering line (blew on the trail)
Replaced the kickdown cable
Performed fluid and filter change on the transmission twice
Replaced differential oil on all 3 differentials twice
Replaced 3rd member due to a rotoflex conversion
Added 2" Terra Firma big bore expedition lift (more like 5")
Added Terra Firma steering damper
Replaced front driveshaft with double cardan shaft due to lift
Added 31" BF Goodrich MT KM2 (get the warranty from discount tire)
Replaced all my front tie rod and steering ends
Replaced exhaust y pipe gaskets
Added 67" trail gear rock sliders

There is probably more I am forgetting but I am no stranger to working on my rig. I dont feel the need to defend myself further on here except to say, damage due to me not inspecting prior to driving my fault? Yes.
Defective product sent to me by more than one supplier my fault? No. Customer service by Rock Auto? F Customer service by Atlantic British? A+
I will add that I was in a hurry the day I installed the calipers as I had to meet my fab guy who was going to start building my new front winch bumper. A simple oversight on my part which I happily admit to. No I am not going to turn the rotors (although I could as I work at a dealership which has a rotor lathe). They are not damaged enough to merit turning. So far since everything is in order now I am pleased with my brake setup. They stop VERY well.

 

[TangoBlue]

I'm glad you got everything worked out.

 

[k9lestat]

i cant blame someone with things the way they are today trying to save money. but if i had put those parts on my vehicle and something got damage i couldn't blame anyone but me.